Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Gray Cloud Castle
Finis could hardly believe her ears.
But just as she tried to climb out of the witch’s embrace, she found her waist tightly held.
Chesia took the opportunity to wrap her arm around Finis’s unguarded knee bend, lifting this doll-like silver-haired girl onto her lap. She gently sniffed the fragrance of her neck and hair, while her hands mischievously felt all over her body.
Finis tried to break free but finally gave up, allowing the witch to handle her as she pleased.
“Collect it myself… you’re planning to let me go outside? And act alone?” To avoid overthinking, Finis felt she needed to confirm.
“Of course. I’m worried you might feel stifled.” Chesia produced an exquisite ivory comb inlaid with rubies from somewhere and began fixing Finis’s long hair from behind. “Breathing fresh air, gaining practical experience—these are necessary. Don’t you think?”
“I… of course I have no objections…” Noticing the comb gently flowing through her hair tips, Finis stopped fidgeting, tucked in her neck, and settled down. “But aren’t you afraid I might sneak away?”
“I am. I hope to hold you tight every night before sleep, so those annoying whispers might become slightly quieter. I can’t live without you anymore.” Chesia said softly. “But I also made a promise to you. I promised to nurture you, and keeping you only in the palm of my hand won’t allow you to grow.”
Finis clenched her delicate little fists and lowered her head in silence.
“Besides, I never said I was letting you act completely alone. I’ll accompany you but absolutely won’t interfere.” Chesia continued gently and quickly combing her hair. “Also, if you run away, I can catch you again. A bolster growing legs, that’s all.”
Finis clenched her delicate fists even tighter and puffed her cheeks in anger.
“Perhaps you should consider where you could go right now?” The witch’s tone suddenly turned cold.
Silence.
Wind beat against the glass doors.
Finis felt her spine and forehead turn ice-cold.
She had indeed thought about where to hide if she had a chance to escape.
But for a witch—a young witch with special physical characteristics and petite stature—the church would never accept her again and would even arrest, imprison, and torture her. The city was full of searchers and law enforcers, and she didn’t even have the ability to survive independently in the wild.
Moreover, Finis needed to become stronger until she could kill Chesia with her own hands.
She would eventually return here.
Return to the side of the witch who had changed her life.
Just as Chesia couldn’t live without her, she similarly couldn’t easily escape from Chesia’s hands. They depended on each other.
She resented it.
Yet could only accept it.
“I understand, Miss Witch.” The silver-haired girl bit her lip and trembled as she spoke softly.
“Look up, be more confident. No girl in this world could be more captivating than you. Don’t be so timid and indecisive when you’re outside.” Chesia lifted Finis’s chin from behind. “One day you will emerge as the representative image of the Black Rose Society. I’ve always been raising and educating you by this standard.”
“I understand, Miss Witch.” The silver-haired girl pressed her lips together and shook her head as if throwing a tantrum.
Finis wasn’t a child. She couldn’t fail to see Chesia’s intentions and expectations.
But the more Chesia valued her, the more anxious and afraid she became. That vaguely foreseeable future was not what Finis hoped for.
“Let’s get back to the potion ingredients.” Chesia put away the comb and poured herself more tea. “The potion formulas for the witch path aren’t always fixed. All sorts of chaotic ingredients lead to the same result. However, at least for advancing to the eighth rank, there’s a generally recognized relatively stable formula.”
Finis immediately forgot her earlier unhappiness and grew curious again, turning her head to look at Chesia.
“I’m listening, Miss Witch.”
“70 milliliters of pure water, 2 grams of silver-winged cicada scale powder, 4 grams of ice branch flower leaves, 8 grams of iron-gray rock mineral powder.” Chesia shook a small aluminum can and poured the milk into the red tea. “One Mogu bone fish eyeball, and as much black sword ground lizard sword rust secretion as possible. Mix, stir, simmer over medium heat for five minutes, and it’s freshly made.”
“Ice branch flower leaves contain properties of solidification and immutability, while iron-gray rock mineral powder represents intense boiling heat characteristics… what a messy formula. Can this really be drunk?” Finis frowned.
“Because the witch path encompasses the supernatural characteristics of all fourteen paths yet doesn’t truly belong to any of them, its potion formulas are often counter-intuitive.” Chesia took out a paper bag of sand sugar from the tray and gently tore it open.
“And the black sword ground lizard, I remember it’s a supernatural creature combining the characteristics of the sixth rank ‘Inciter’ of the Wrath path. Its spinal fluid can be used to make the ‘Inciter’ potion.” Finis propped her chin, thinking seriously. “A lizard with strength equal to the sixth rank—ingredients taken from it can be used for an eighth rank witch path potion? And sword rust secretion… I’ve never heard of it being used as a supernatural ingredient…”
“Ow—!”
A soft cry of surprise as the girl’s head hurt.
Chesia had tapped Finis on the head. “Don’t overthink it. What were you researching before? Did the Temperance Institute know you secretly understood so much about original sin path potion formulas?”
“Just personal interest.” Finis innocently held her head.
As an enforcer at the frontline between the church and the city’s dark side, she had confiscated many original sin path potion formulas and ingredients, occasionally sneaking a peek and secretly memorizing them.
Finis herself knew this interest was quite dangerous and inappropriate for a Temperance Institute civil servant.
But she couldn’t help it.
“So, Miss Witch, may I ask what is the missing final ingredient?” Finis asked.
“Black sword ground lizard sword rust secretion. This isn’t easy to buy on the market, and none of the other girls in the society need to advance, so…” Chesia shrugged.
“I’m supposed to fight a black sword ground lizard? Seriously?” Finis’s eyes widened.
She was just a blank slate ninth rank, showing no supernatural characteristics at all. Sending her to fight a sixth rank supernatural creature seemed like suicide.
“Don’t rush, I haven’t finished yet.” After stirring a few times, Chesia lifted the teacup and handed it to the girl in her arms. “Because this is a recognized stable formula, even the church knows its connection to witches, so sword rust secretion can only possibly circulate in the black market.”
“Doesn’t sound cheap.”
“More than just expensive. Due to the church’s blockade and investigations, the supply is increasingly scarce, and black market merchants are hiking prices.” Chesia gave the spoon to Finis. “Now even money isn’t enough—without connections, introductions, or recommendations, they won’t sell. They only sell to people they want to sell to.”
“So it’s more cost-effective and easier to just let me fight the black sword ground lizard?” Finis took the small spoon.
“No, we can steal or rob from buyers.” Chesia smiled. “Who has the best connections and networks in Gray Cloud Castle?”
“The free city-state has no nobility or royalty. The real power holders are the gangs.” Finis took two sips of milk-and-sugar-added red tea in the black-haired witch’s embrace. “Hmm… are you suggesting they’re secretly cultivating witches? Otherwise, why would they be involved with such church-prohibited materials?”
“Exactly right, Miss Enforcer. Your reasoning skills haven’t diminished at all. This matter is perfectly suited for you to handle.” Chesia pulled out a copper board from under the table, with clear shining marks engraved by a difference engine. “Kidnapping young girls, producing whisper potions, conducting whisper trials on a large scale, dumping girls’ corpses on the streets… someone in the Blood Wine Society is doing this. The sisters of our society have already investigated clearly.”
Just glancing at it briefly, Finis couldn’t help but furrow her brows. All these dealings involved human lives, bloody and brutal.
“Moira, poor girl. We picked her up from a garbage heap in Gray Cloud Castle half a year ago. Now it appears the Blood Wine Society was the one who transformed her into a witch. But two weeks ago, she disappeared while going to the market to buy food ingredients. She never returned, and the sisters couldn’t find her.” Chesia touched the small bell hanging from Finis’s horn roots while she was drinking tea.
“Moira…” Finis knew what Chesia was implying.
Although she refused to associate with the society’s witches, she couldn’t help that some girls were enthusiastic and friendly. Finis remembered this name because the string of silver bells she often hung at the root of her horns was a gift from Moira.
“You think her disappearance is also related to the Blood Wine Society?” Finis simply took the cup from Chesia’s hand.
“At least it’s not unrelated.” Chesia said coldly.
Finis no longer maintained her ladylike image as she held up the cup to drink, then placed the porcelain cup back on the saucer. “Miss Witch, I only care about my own advancement.”
“Of course, I just mentioned it in passing. It would be better if you kept an eye out for it.” Chesia hummed a tune absent-mindedly.
The girl jumped out of the witch’s embrace, turned around, and curtsied. “Thank you for your hospitality, Miss Witch. When do you plan for me to begin?”
“Start preparing now. Take whatever you think you’ll need. The sooner the better.”
Chesia didn’t stop her, but merely rubbed the edge of the cup where Finis’s lips had touched with her fingertip.
Finis’s face turned red immediately. Only now did she realize it was Chesia’s teacup, and that Chesia had already drunk from it. Their lips had indirectly touched in a sense.
“Wait, don’t go yet.” Chesia called out to Finis, who was about to flee from embarrassment. “Come with me.”
Finis hesitated, stopped in her tracks, and turned back to face Chesia with a blush.
The witch rose gracefully, her night-silk gauze dress trailing the ground as she walked elegantly toward the curtain. The girl followed silently behind, hands folded at her waist in noble lady fashion.
Chesia took out a camphorwood box from a nearby cabinet and handed it to Finis.
Finis didn’t understand.
But under the witch’s gaze, she opened the lid—a yellowed piece of parchment and a silver gleaming Temperance Institute emblem.
“A year ago, I promised to return these to you.” Chesia said softly. “Keeping my word.”
A fragment of the law codex and Sera Freide’s badge—these things had originally belonged to Finis. Chesia had kept them for a whole year until finally returning them now.
For some reason, Finis suddenly felt like crying.
“Stay quiet, girl.” Chesia gently grabbed a corner of the curtain. “Farewell ceremony. This is important.”
In the dim glow, the curtain was silently lifted by the witch’s hand. Beyond the transparent glass doors was the long-absent sky and brightness.
But Finis didn’t see the blue sky and white clouds she had imagined. Through thick fog layers, the sun’s rays were thin and weak. Forests of chimneys spewed gray smoke, and black snow fell from the clouds.
A massive shadow slowly drifted. Looking up, she saw an enormous exaggerated city soaring in the sky, exhaling boiling steam like the breath of a giant dragon.
After a year, Finis finally remembered—
Gray Cloud Castle was named for the thick fog like gray clouds, for the sky city like gray clouds. A place where mechanical gears, supernatural arts, and alchemy converged, a free city-state beyond the church’s jurisdiction.
And the true Gray Cloud Castle was beneath their feet.
Golden-bronze wings driven by springs flapped, propellers hummed lowly. The Black Rose Society’s hideout here was actually a steam airship, always hovering above the black city and below the sky city.
From there, everything came into view.
The witch laughed softly.
“Welcome to Gray Cloud Castle, Finis.”